BUILDING BUSINESSAND ENTREPRENEURSHIPAWARENESS

An ILO experience of integrating entrepreneurship education into national vocational education systems

For more information visit:www.ilo.org/seedwww.knowaboutbusiness.org International Labour OfficeSmall Enterprise ProgrammeRoute des Morillons 4CH-1211 Geneva 22 E-Mail: seed@ilo.org

BUILDING BUSINESSAND ENTREPRENEURSHIP AWARENESS

An ILO experience ofintegrating entrepreneurshipeducation into nationalvocational education systems

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Building business and entrepreneurship awareness : an ILO experience of integrating entrepreneurship education into national vocational education systems / International Labour Office. - Geneva: ILO, 2011

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Contents

Introduction 1

ObjectivesofGuidelines 2

IntegratingEntrepreneurshipEducationandTrainingintoNationalVocationalEducationSystems 3

TheGuidelinesataGlance 4

TheFourPhasesoftheImplementationProcess 7 I. PilotPhase 7 II. NationalRolloutofEntrepreneurshipEducationPhase 11 III.MonitoringandEvaluation 13 IV.Policy&StrategyFrameworkDevelopment 15

SomeAdditionalFactorstoTakeintoConsiderationduringImplementation 18

Conclusions 19

AppendixA 20

AppendixB 20

1

BUILDING BUSINESS AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP AWARENESS:

AN ILO EXPERIENCE OF INTEGRATING ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATIONINTO NATIONAL VOCATIONAL EDUCATION SYSTEMS1

Introduction

More and more countries around the world have introduced or are working towards introducing policy measures to support the growth of an “enterprise culture” and entre-

preneurship.2 In particular, efforts have been made towards introducing entrepreneurship into the edu-cational system as a way to develop entrepreneurial attitudes, skills, behaviours and mind-sets, and improv-ing young people’s employability overall. A wide range of factors have contributed to this growing interest in entrepreneurship education and training (EE) and there is an increasing recognition of the important role education can play in developing entrepreneurial mind-sets, attitudes and societies. Economic recession, high unemployment and fluctuations in international trade in many countries are just but a few reasons which have led policy makers and political decision makers to pay increased attention to the potential role of the private sector and entrepreneurs as a means of job creation, and to the importance of fostering an entrepreneurial, creative and innovative workforce both in private and public sectors as strategies for promoting economic prosperity and decent work over the long term.

It is the young women and men of today who will build the foundations for the economies and societies of tomorrow. However, youth employment levels remain low and evidence shows that the recent economic crisis has further exacerbated this trend leading to the larg-est cohort ever of unemployed youth. With an estimated increase of 7.8 million unemployed young women and men between 2007 and 2009, the total figure of unem-ployed youth currently stands at 81 million3. As recentevents have demonstrated, youth unemployment has created a dire situation in many countries contributing to social and economic costs to societies, communities, families and individuals. Given that prospects for youth

2 See Appendix A for selected definitions3 Global Employment Trends for Youth 2010, Special issue on the impact of the global economic crisis on youth, International Labour Organization, Switzerland August 2010

employment in the coming years remain grim compared to that of adults, but acknowledging the tremendous potential of the newer generations, many countries are looking at promoting youth entrepreneurship as an important component of wider youth employment poli-cies. The end goal is to unleash the underutilized pro-ductive potential of youth by enabling them to channel their energy, talent, creativity and skills through entre-preneurship.

EE has received growing attention around the world as policy makers, teachers, researchers and students them-selves increasingly request information and access to this expanding field. There have been a growing num-ber of initiatives and reports, many in Western coun-tries, which have contributed further knowledge as well as increased awareness about the importance of EE in fostering entrepreneurial societies and youth. The European Commission has done a significant amount of work in this area, including the publication of the “Oslo Agenda for Entrepreneurship Education in Europe 4“, and more recently, the World Economic Forum’s Global Education Initiative 2009 report on “Educating the Next Wave of Entrepreneurs 5” and the Global Entrepreneur-ship Monitor’s 2010 special report on the current global state of EE and training 6.

For its part, the International Labour Organization (ILO) has been actively involved in promoting and sup-porting entrepreneurship education and training for over 15 years through programmes such as Start and Improve Your Business, a management-training programme com-prised of inter-related training packages and supporting materials for small-scale entrepreneurs wanting to start and grow their businesses, and the Know About Business (KAB) entrepreneurship education programme (for further information, see the information box below as

4 The Oslo Agenda for Entrepreneurship Education, European Commis-sion, February 20075 Educating the Next Wave of Entrepreneurs - Unlocking entrepreneurial capabilities to meet the global challenges of the 21st Century, A Report of the Global Education Initiative, World Economic Forum, Switzerland April 20096 A Global Perspective on Entrepreneurship Education and Training,A Global Entrepreneurship Monitor Special Report, GEM, 2010

1 These guidelines have greatly benefited from inputs and comments by the European Training Foundation, GIZ, UNESCO and UNEVOC. They also received comments from US-Ugandan organization Educate! and substan-tive editing and contributions from GV partners. We wish to thank them all for their insightful comments and suggestions.

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well as Appendix B). This second programme is mostly focused on promoting entrepreneurship awareness in vocational and secondary education settings via teach-ing materials and methods that are considered appropri-ate for young women and men aged 14 and up. Here the objective is to help youth consider the option of starting a business so that they can decide later whether they wish to pursue this path or not. It provides general life skills along with some basic business knowledge and skills. All of ILO’s work in entrepreneurship training and educa-tion is geared towards helping women and men achieve and retain more and better work opportunities.

While EE will not solve all of the economic and social issues highlighted above, it can help set the stage for more entrepreneurial young women and men, and soci-eties at large. This in turn can help make societies and communities be better positioned to create economic growth and social value.

ObjectivesofGuidelines

The main goal of these guidelines is to provide ILO specialists and policy makers with a broad roadmap for integrating entrepreneurship education and training into the national vocational education systems in their coun-tries. The following guidelines are based on ILO’s long-standing experience in the promotion of EE through its KAB programme into mostly vocational and secondary schools. Despite its ten year experience with KAB the ILO had not systematized or synthesized the process through key lessons learned and it was found that the time was right for that exercise in order to share experi-ences given the growing interest in EE and the lack of similar guidelines in EE but with a broader perspective. A document like this one, though very much focused on one programme, was thought could serve as a first step towards better understanding of the various challenges and benefits promoting EE has and helping maintain the interest and the attention in this field.

A word of caution is however needed when reading the guidelines. They are a reflection of ILO’s experience with mostly vocational and secondary education in sev-eral countries, working with both constituents and other partners. Therefore, not all areas or guidelines may be necessary or essential to other similar or complementary programmes or to particular countries. Likewise, some areas may be missing from the list below when compar-ing to a specific national context or programme.

This is the case for example if we are speaking of more advanced type of business management and enterprise courses that may require a different strategy and would be aimed at a narrower group in upper levels of educa-tion. The guidelines are to be seen as a broad roadmap and not as a step-by-step chronological road-map.

Last but not least, it is worth pointing out that although the KAB programme mostly focuses on the vocational education system, it nevertheless recognises that fos-tering entrepreneurial societies in a stable and sustain-able manner would strongly benefit from a holistic approach going beyond the introduction of specific content into country curricula (which already can be difficult). It also acknowledges, based on other organiza-tions’ experiences and lessons learned, that fomenting entrepreneurial traits such as curiosity, creativity and problem-solving from an early age and within a life-long learning approach and process, can help develop solid grounds for more managerial and business focused skills at a later stage. Finally, it is aware that many other education and training channels exist through which EE may be implemented. Nevertheless, the ILO based on its mandate and its experience, believes talking the issue from the formal vocational education system, is an effi-cient strategy in the medium term as the system provides a stable channel with a relatively high multiplier effect given that a considerable portion of developing coun-tries’ future active population go through it.

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IntegratingEntrepreneur-shipEducationandTraininginto

NationalVocationalEducationSystems

The guidelines for integrating EE into national voca-tional (and secondary) curricula have been grouped into four “phases” which include (i) testing through a pilot phase entrepreneurship education and training content material and teaching methods (ii) implementation of a national roll out plan which includes further curricu-lum adaptation and development as well as larger scale teacher training, (iii) monitoring and evaluation, a criti-cal component both during the pilot and the national rollout process and finally (iv) the design of and pre-paratory work for a policy framework and a national implementation strategy. These phases do not necessar-

ily need to be implemented in a sequential order as the context and needs in each country vary, nor are areas within particular phases so clearly cut out in reality (some overlap happens within areas of one or two the phases). However, each of the four phases outlined in the guidelines have been found to be important to suc-cessfully integrating entrepreneurship education into the national curriculum. In ILO’s experience in close to 50 countries, the process of integrating EE fully into the national curriculum took on average between two to three years and often began with a pilot project. How-ever pilot projects may not always be needed and work on the policy level may be done simultaneously with other phases.

In addition, it is important to keep in mind that while governments play a critical role, other stakeholders should and need to be engaged throughout the process. These may include international organizations, academic institutions, employers’ organizations and civil society (NGOs, foundations and others). These phases, and the more detailed guidelines, are outlined below.

Know About Business (KAB) is an entrepreneurship education programme designed and developed by the Inter-national Labour Organization (ILO) in partnership with the ILO’s International Training Centre (ITC-ILO).The KAB programme is mainly directed towards teachers in public and private vocational and technical training institutions and general secondary education. Teachers and their education institutions are the direct beneficia-ries of the programme while the ultimate target group is the young women and men enrolled in schools and training institutions.

Through its 9 modules and participatory teaching methods, the KAB programme aims to transfer enterprising qualities such as initiative, innovation, creativity and risk taking to youth, raise their awareness about theopportunities and challenges of entrepreneurship and self-employment, and increase their understanding of the role they play in shaping their future by being entrepreneurial in their lives and careers.

Since its early beginnings in Kenya in the early 1990s, the programme has been further developed, tested and adapted into 20 languages and used in close to 50 countries around the world.

Countries vary with regards to the level of integration of the KAB programme into their national education systems. 16 countries for example have decided to integrate KAB-based entrepreneurship education into their national vocational education curricula.

Through the programme and local partners, it is estimated that over 12’000 teachers from more than 4’5000 institutions have been trained in the KAB materials and teaching methods, reaching over half a million students.

For more information on the outreach of KAB visit: www.knowaboutbusiness.org For more information on KAB’s content, training and requirements also visit: http://kab.itcilo.org/en

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TheGuidelinesataGlance

PILOT PHASE

Develop the Curriculum

Train Teachers

Run Pilot Projects

• Recognize entrepreneurship education and training as a key enabler in developing the attitudes and characteristics in young women and men so they may be entrepreneurial throughout their lives.

• Review and update existing curricula materials, delivery methods and programmes to help determine how best to integrate entrepreneurship into the curriculum.

• Develop or adapt relevant materials to reflect the local culture, gender balance, highlighting local examples and situations that promote sustainable enterprises and responsible workplace practices.

• Link curricula with practice with case studies, projects and by inviting entrepreneurs into the classroom.

• Adopt action learning methodologies like “learning by doing” as an effective way to develop entrepreneurial mind-sets and skills.

• Train women and men educators from a diversity of fields to teach entrepreneurship.

• Equip teachers with interactive and participatory learning methodologies. Teacher-training institutions should expand their methods of teaching to include interactive approaches that are appropriate for all young women and men as well youth living with disabilities. Specific capacity building sessions may be needed to improve teachers’ capacity to include particular target groups and better understand and meet their specific needs as learners and as future employees or entrepreneurs.

• Engage experts on entrepreneurship education and training to help develop and implement pilot projects.

• Involve international organizations, donor organizations, NGOs, private sector and foundations to provide funding for innovative pilot projects, programmes and schemes.

• Evaluate and learn from pilot phase.

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NATIONAL ROLL OUT OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION PHASE

MONITORING AND EVALUATION PHASE

Implement NationalEntrepreneurship Marketing Campaign

Build Relationships with Local, National and International Stakeholders

Disseminate and Share Good Practices

Identify Resources for Up Scaling;Plan for Sustainability

Design a monitoring and evaluation system

Build Research Capacity

• Gain public support for EE through parent-teachers associations, employers’ organizations and other national/local organizations already contacted/ involved during the pilot phase.

• Identify and engage “champions” as advocates for EE.

• Identify the various stakeholder groups (such as heads of schools, administrators, teachers, parents, school boards) and provide information that focuses on the broad benefits of EE.

• Organise and link national, regional and local awareness campaigns to provide open communication and transparency among all stakeholders.

• Recognize involvement by stakeholders outside of the education system in EE activities and programmes.

• Encourage the creation of multi-stakeholder partnerships with the mission of creating learning communities to foster entrepreneurial mind-sets.

• Develop both physical and virtual platforms as a means to disseminate and exchange good practices identified during the pilot phase or other experiences between teachers and different EE stakeholders.

• Review existing resources within the Ministry of Education (or other ministries as relevant) to identify how the current resources are being used.

• Leverage existing organizations and engage them early in the curriculum development process.

• Institutionalise funding for entrepreneurship education and training by making it a regular part of the budgetary process of the Ministry of Education.

• Set well-defined objectives and appropriate measures for EE programmes both at the pilot phase level and at a wider national roll out level

• Budget, from the onset, the monitoring of progress on implementing the EE plan, including periodic evaluations as well as a possible assessment of outcomes in the longer run.

• Ensure that schools have in place or put in place the necessary data collec-tion and storage tools/databases, and that data is properly disaggregated by sex etc.

• During pilot phases, conduct sample evaluations from rural urban and semi-urban schools regarding the positive and negative aspects of the EE curriculum.

• Undertake a periodic review of all aspects of the entrepreneurship education and training program during the first five years of implementation on a national level.

• Develop a research agenda during the conceptual stage of implementing the curriculum.

• Conduct studies to monitor the progress of EE and different impacts, as well as justify the investment of implementing EE.

• Study models of public-private sector cooperation to most effectively implement EE programmes.

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POLICY FRAMEWORK AND STRATEGY PHASE

Develop a national entrepreneurship education policy framework

Prepare a national implementation strategy

Engage educational institutions

• As part of a marketing campaign for EE, raise awareness and build political support through workshops at the national, regional and local levels. This could include a national conference bringing together key stakeholders.

• Identify and engage the relevant ministries (education, economics, labour/employment, etc.) in order to favour inter-ministerial cooperation.

• Identify existing policies (e.g. skills development policies) and programmes related to entrepreneurship and enterprise development to determine gaps and possible steps forward.

• Analyse procedures for curricula development within the country’s Ministry of Education.

• Develop coherent lifelong learning policies to connect the entrepreneurial learning process across primary, secondary, vocational and higher education.

• Map current practices of national education and training systems, including curricula and impact assessments.

• Create a plan highlighting the rationale and procedures for implementing entrepreneurship education and training into the national curriculum

• Establish cross ministry steering committees at the national, regional and local levels, including all stakeholders.

• Secure commitment from the main actors in the field of education in the country. Within vocational education, ensure that there is equitable representation from vocational schools that link to sectors where both women and men participate.

• Work through existing departments and training institutes.• Determine the most effective and efficient entry points for implementing

entrepreneurship education and training at each educational level. • Based on the country’s specific context and history, encourage both public

and private institutions help implement EE.

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TheFourPhasesoftheImplementationProcess

When a national policy framework and strategic plan are not in place, pilot programmes can be a useful and cost-effective means of testing ideas and building both interest and engagement. Successful pilot programmes which are able to show results can greatly help facilitate the process of gaining the necessary commitment to inte-grate entrepreneurship education and training into the national curriculum. The following guidelines are meant to help policy makers in launching pilot programmes to test and modify new entrepreneurship programmes prior to implementing a national roll out plan. In ILO’s experience, this phase of the process can take between one and two years.

a)Developthecurriculum

Entrepreneurship education and training should seek to prepare people, especially young women and men, to be responsible, enterprising individuals who become entre-preneurs or entrepreneurial thinkers and who contribute to economic development and sustainable communities.

• Recognize EE as a key enabler in developing attitudes and characteristics needed to be entrepreneurial throughout one’s life.

Entrepreneurship education and training should be promoted and implemented as a core component of education, developing the attitudes and characteristics needed to be entrepreneurial throughout one’s life. These attitudes include among others the capacity of being creative and innovative, being problem-solving oriented, developing a strong sense of self-efficacy etc. Entrepreneurship can also help develop the self-con-fidence of learners by allowing to them to proactively test their skills in a safe environment and enable them to engage actively in the economy and society through decent work. Whether young women and men chose to seek employment or create their employment by start-ing a business, teachers should ensure that linkages are provided to other available supports (career guidance, training, business development services, etc.) that can increase their capacity to successfully transition from school to work.

I. PILOT PHASE

PILOTING(Estimated time frame: 12-24 months)

NATIONAL ROLL-OUT(Estimated time frame: 18-30 months)

POLICY FRAMEWORK AND STRATEGY(Estimated time frame: depending on country context)

Monitoring evaluationof process and impactassessment of pilots

Monitoring evaluationof rolling-out

Monitoring changes inpolicies and implemen-

tation of strategy

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• Review and update curriculum materials as well as delivery methods

It is important for curriculum developers, educational administrators and teachers to review existing interna-tional entrepreneurship curricula materials and pro-grammes as a first step in the curriculum development process. This will help in developing an appreciation for the content and methodology for teaching entrepreneur-ship and appropriate for the target group. There should also be a check as to whether the curriculum is gender sensitive. This curriculum review process will help deter-mine how best to integrate entrepreneurship into the curriculum, either as a stand-alone course or as modules within existing courses. After piloting, and based on the data obtained through monitoring, the curriculum should be reviewed and its impact assessed. Based on these, the curriculum should then be further improved, enhanced and adapted as necessary.

• Develop locally relevant materialsInternational curricula include basic concepts regarding entrepreneurship but adaptation to the context will be needed. In some countries, for example, the decision to start a business is not an individual decision, but is made by the family, group or community. The curriculum needs to reflect the local culture and highlight local examples and situations. These examples and case studies should include local men and women from various backgrounds and ages.

• Link curricula with practice Curriculum developers should make it clear how the concepts in the curricula are linked to entrepreneurial practice. Case studies, projects and inviting business and social entrepreneurs into the classroom to give presentations will help learners to better understand and internalize the entrepreneurial concepts presented in the curriculum. The entrepreneurs might also serve role models, mentors and coaches and show the differ-ent facets of what being entrepreneurial can be. Effort should be taken to include women entrepreneurs to serve as much needed role models to young girls who may otherwise develop the notion that entrepreneurship is primarily for men.

• Adopt action learning methodologies One of the most effective ways to develop entrepreneur-ial mind-sets and skills is through “learning by doing”. Experience in the United States suggests that almost 20% of learners involved in school-based student-operated businesses in secondary school and vocational institutions create their own businesses after their stud-ies. Activities in the curriculum should provide learners with opportunities to come in contact with school-based student-operated business and/or with entrepreneurs in their community. Teachers should therefore have the appropriate resources in terms of time, financial resources and flexibility to coordinate activities aimed at enhancing students’ comprehension through hands-on experience and developing their entrepreneurial com-petences.

INJAZ, an ILO partner in the Arab region, provides an education program in the Arab world “that teaches students business, entrepreneurship, and life skills as part of a regular school curriculum.” INJAZ/JA Worldwide instils youth in Arab States with a sense of self-motivation, confidence and empowerment while fostering among business leaders a responsibility for investing their resources in the future of the region’s youth. Its educational programs have reached more than 300,000 students and engaged 10,000 volunteers.

For more information on INJAZ visit:http://www.injazalarab.org/

Based on the belief that learning by doing is the most effective form of entrepreneurship education, Educate! a Colorado and Uganda-based organization, develops young leaders and entrepreneurs in Uganda. Research shows that the most effective social entrepreneurs had a successful leadership experience around the age of 17 and so, this organization in order to truly empower the next generation of entrepreneurs and leaders, takes education outside of the classroom and into the community. It requires that every student identifies a problem in their community and starts an enterprise to solve that problem during secondary school as part of a social entrepreneurship club. Students are then provided supported in their entrepreneurial endeavours with Educate!’s leadership and entrepreneurship training, long-term mentoring, and access to capital.

For more information on Educate! visithttp://www.experienceeducate.org/

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b)TrainTeachers

Entrepreneurship education and training requires edu-cators to rethink the process of developing and imple-menting education. Traditional content and methods of teaching often do not apply to entrepreneurship educa-tion and training. Interactive teaching methods are a key component of successful EE programmes. As a result, there is a need to prepare teachers to teach entrepre-neurship education and to update their knowledge and skills on a regular basis. The following guidelines provide insights into curriculum development and teacher train-ing.

• Train educators from different fields to teach entrepreneurship

Preparing teachers at the pre-service and in-service lev-els to teach entrepreneurship should be a primary goal. Since the content and methodologies will be new to most teachers, emphasis on teachers as facilitators of learning rather than as the primary source for learning should be stressed. Innovative methods should be used to train teachers in entrepreneurship. These could include case studies and other experiential methods, such as involving teachers in projects with real enterprises or operating a mini-company. By acquiring direct experience, teachers will be more effective when using these methods with the learners. Both women and men teachers should be encouraged and trained to teach entrepreneurship.

• Equip teachers with interactive and participatory learning methodologies

The development of interactive teaching methodolo-gies in the curricula will facilitate and stimulate entre-preneurial intention and motivation within learners. Teachers often need additional training in these meth-odologies. Teacher-training institutions should expand their methods of teaching to accommodate interactive approaches which are critical for entrepreneurship but also important in others areas of the curriculum. Teachers should not just receive an initial training, but should have the opportunity to upgrade their skills on an on-going basis as needed, through refresher workshops and competency reinforcement training programmes. Teacher colleges should be engaged in teaching interac-tive methodologies to all teachers.

• Teacher development and recognitionTeacher development and recognition is important in all areas and particularly when introducing new courses and teaching approaches. Staff development funds should be used to prepare and train teachers to imple-ment entrepreneurship education courses and training.

Teachers should be recognize and rewarded for their efforts to implement a new topic in the curricula as well as for using interactive teaching methodologies.

c)Runpilottests

Pilot testing of entrepreneurship curricula is essential and should be done in cooperation with the curriculum development departments and teacher training institu-tions within the Ministry of Education or other relevant ministries. The pilot test should be conducted in urban, semi-urban and rural schools in order to ensure its rele-vance to the local context. While the curriculum content includes basic information all young women and men can benefit, the methodology for teaching the content may differ between urban, semi-urban and rural schools in the different regions of a country.

• Engage entrepreneurship education and training experts (senior advisors)

The multiplier effect can be employed when preparing entrepreneurship education programmes and training teachers by leveraging expertise outside of the given country. Senior entrepreneurship education experts could conduct workshops for educators who could later teach others. Workshops might include: a) teaching tech-niques and methodologies for future entrepreneurship education teachers and b) in-service workshops for cur-rent teachers. In the beginning, three or four national educators could serve as assistants to the senior entre-preneurship education expert. They would co-facilitate two or three teacher education workshops and then be approved by the senior expert to be national entrepre-neurship education facilitators and they would conduct additional in-service workshops for a broader group of teachers.

• Engage international organizations, donor organisations, NGOs, and foundations

International NGOs and donor organizations might pro-vide funding to innovative pilot projects, programmes and schemes, establishing and expanding international partnerships, networks and linkages between key stakeholders to promote entrepreneurship education and training. These organizations can also be engaged directly in social entrepreneurship and enterprise proj-ects with students and may even become future clients of the students.

• Evaluate and learn from pilot programmes An in-depth evaluation of the pilot test should be under-taken before fully integrating the curriculum at the

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national level. This is made possible if from the onset a monitoring system has been put in place and resources set aside for the evaluation (see phase iii) This evalua-tion should look closely at both the process and the out-come of the curriculum. On the one hand, learners and teachers should be asked to evaluate the content and methodology of teaching EE at the end of each pilot test.

A practical way of doing this is could be through focus group discussions with teachers and learners as to obtain feedback regarding the content and methodology for teaching the entrepreneurship course. The group of teachers and learners should include an appropriate mix of men and women. To obtain more quantitative data, and further information on the overall impact of the cur-riculum on students, it could also be useful to do pre and post-tests at the start and end of the pilot with both EE students and students without EE (as to have a compari-son group when gathering data).

These tests should cover, among other things, young women and men’s basic knowledge on business, as well as questions allowing the measurement of their attitudes towards entrepreneurship and their level of entrepre-neurial drive. By carrying out these longitudinal and cross-sectional assessments, pilot evaluators would be able to better (or more realistically) assess the curricu-la’s effect on students (both women and men). Carrying out mid-term reviews would also provide useful inter-mediary evaluation points which could help improve and modify the curricula on an on-going basis.

• Document the process and share results with stakeholders

Documentation of the process of implementing entre-preneurship programmes is important, particularly when they are being implemented as part of a national level curriculum strategy. All phases of the curriculum development process should be documented, including with videos and photographs. Testimonials by learners, teachers, parents, and leaders in government and busi-ness could also be included as they provide rich qualita-tive data.

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After running and evaluating a pilot phase, the national implementation plan could be developed and imple-mented. However, as previously mentioned, this is not always necessary and some countries may decide they cannot wait for a pilot phase and directly embark on a nation-wide roll-out. Based on the ILO’s experience, the pilot phase is a good practice that enables countries to mitigate any potential risks and ensure the necessary buy-in. The following set of guidelines provide some insights into key parts of the process that would follow after a pilot phase and which in ILO’s experience, can take at least a year and a half.

a)Implementanationalentrepreneur- shipmarketingcampaign

A national marketing campaign would be a good first step towards creating a positive image of entrepreneur-ship as well as justification for the need for entrepreneur-ship to be included into the educational system. Such a campaign would raise the profile of entrepreneurship and highlight its vital contribution to the growth and development of the national economy. Existing global campaigns, such as Global Entrepreneurship Week7, might be leveraged as part of the marketing campaign. Both young women and men should be portrayed, as well as different enterprise models found in urban and rural settings. This campaign could include among other things national awareness raising workshops and semi-nars (see below under “Policy and strategy framework development”), the use of media and other communica-tion channels to showcase successful and socially com-mitted entrepreneurs, especially young women and men etc. The campaign could also seek to:

• Gain public support for EEIt is important to gain public support for entrepreneur-ship education and training. The national, regional and local parent-teachers associations, employers’ organiza-tions and other national and local organizations should be encouraged to provide support. Although these organizations may not be directly involved in providing entrepreneurial instruction, they can have a great influ-ence on what is taught in the schools. The media can also play an important role in building public support and should be encouraged to profile entrepreneurial men, women and youth.

7 In 2010, over 100 countries ran GEW campaigns. For further informa-

tion, visit: www.unleashingideas.org

• Identify and engage EE “champions”Involve key people from government, academia and the private sector as advocates for entrepreneurship educa-tion and training.

b)Buildrelationshipswithlocal, nationalandinternational stakeholders

Communication should be established between all stakeholders to ensure transparency and effective coor-dination. All phases and aspects of the implementation of EE should be transparent. Those groups most affected by changes regarding entrepreneurship education and training should be aware of, and provide input into, the implementation process. The following guidelines pro-vide steps for building relationships with local, national and international stakeholders.

• Identify the key stakeholdersIn promoting the implementation of entrepreneurship education and training programmes, it is important to identify the various stakeholders (such as heads of schools, administrators, teachers, parents, school boards) and to provide information that focuses on the broad benefits of EE. New proposals concerning entrepre-neurship education and training should be adequately explained, particularly to parents and teachers, to ensure their buy-in and support. Special efforts should be made to reach out to groups representing the voices and needs of young women and men as well as those living with disabilities.

II. NATIONAL ROLLOUT OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION PHASE

The first lady of Syria, Asma al-Assad encourageseconomic and social enterprises that develop skills, self-reliance and community involvement. She is patron of an innovative project targeting entrepre-neurship amongst young Syrians. SHABAB (Strategy Highlighting And Building Abilities for Business) equips young Syrians in schools with skills and attitudes to enter the business world and create new opportunities for themselves. SHABAB is ILO’s implementing partner for KAB.

For more information on SHABAB visit:http://www.shabab.net.sy/

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• Link national, regional and local awareness campaigns

Open communication and transparency among all stakeholders is important. An awareness campaign implemented at the national level with follow up activi-ties at the regional and local levels will ensure that entrepreneurship is understood in its broader sense. Such initiatives would focus on a variety of actions at national, regional and local levels (e.g. entrepreneur-ship days, weeks and business plan contests) and could link into international activities. These should include specific campaigns to target key groups such as young women and men, as well as people with disabilities and HIV/AIDS.

• Recognize involvement by stakeholders outside of the education system in EE activities and programmes

Celebrate exemplary entrepreneurship education and training activities and programmes, including both the private sector and others (such as NGOs). Establish awards to acknowledge these stakeholders’ involvement by providing funding and staff time to teaching, mentor-ing and participating in activities within schools.

• Encourage the creation of multi-stakeholder partnerships

Encourage the creation of learning communities with the mission of fostering entrepreneurial mind-sets, by building links between the public and the private sec-tor, involving schools, academia and employers’ organi-zations, as well as relevant intermediary organizations. Recognize the role of intermediary organizations dedi-cated to the dissemination of entrepreneurship activities within academia as well as to building links between academia and the business world.

c)Disseminateandsharegood practicebetweenteachersand differentEEstakeholders

As a means to disseminate and exchange good practice, the use of both physical and virtual platforms should be developed and made as accessible as possible to all stakeholders. These platforms would allow the shar-ing and dissemination of experiences in developed and developing countries. Through the use of internet portals, for example, but also radio, TV and other media used by target groups, many of the efforts (courses, projects and extra-curricular entrepreneurship activities) car-ried out in countries by individual teachers, local schools and community organizations could be showcased more broadly.

d)Identifyresourcesforupscaling andplanforsustainability

Once the necessary political, academic and private sec-tor commitment and plans are in place, funding is often needed to implement new EE programmes. Funding can come from reallocating existing resources or identifying new sources, from the public and/or private sector. Often public and private sector funding is necessary to serve as a catalyst for implementing entrepreneurship education and training but it is important to develop longer term funding sources and, most importantly, to develop a plan for sustainability. The following guidelines provide sug-gested approaches to funding EE.

• Review existing resourcesA review of existing resources within the Ministry of Education (or other relevant ministries) should be con-ducted to identify how the current resources are being used. Suggestions should be made as to how some of the current funds might be reallocated to implement entre-preneurship education and training without compromis-ing core competencies of young people’s education.

• Leverage existing organizationsInstead of establishing a new organization or agency to implement EE often existing resources can be lever-aged. These existing resources should be identified and those responsible should become involved early in the curriculum development process.

• Institutionalise funding for entrepreneurship education and training

To ensure that funding for entrepreneurship education and training is sustainable all activities regarding entre-preneurship education and training should become insti-tutionalized as a regular part of the budgetary process of the Ministry of Education (and other ministries as appropriate).

• Encourage funding and involvement of private sector organizations

Encourage the involvement of private sector organi-zations in entrepreneurship education and training, through funding or contributions in kind. Firms should view their involvement as a long-term investment in human capital development and as an important aspect of their corporate social responsibility. Additional fund-ing options (like fundraising within local communities), cost-recovery selling of student workbooks at affordable rates, running income generating school projects, etc. could be options to be further explored.

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Monitoring and evaluation is an integral part of the process, enabling the monitoring of progress, the evalu-ation of results and the ability to identify opportuni-ties to upgrade and adjust the programmes as needed. In addition to the evaluation of programmes, broader research on entrepreneurship education and training is also important to understand the trends and broader outcomes. These guidelines provide a broad overview of the elements policy-makers must bear in mind in order to carry out continuous and rigorous monitoring of the entrepreneurship education curricula which will allow for insightful and useful evaluations. Monitoring and evaluation should be though out and planned from the onset. They should also be considered an on-going activ-ity, and not just one to be carried out at the end of a pilot or a school year.

a)Designacomprehensivemonitoring andevaluationsystemthatstartsat thepilotphaseandcontinueswell intothenationalrollingoutofEE

As an entrepreneurship curriculum is being imple-mented in the schools, it is important to monitor and evaluate the implementation process especially in the early phases. Monitoring and evaluation will also help improve both the course content as well as determine the extent to which the objectives and design of the entrepreneurship education and training programme are meeting the local needs and priorities of relevant stakeholders. The data obtained through monitoring can also help at a second stage, evaluating the impact of the curriculum on students’ personal and professional development and thus providing the evidence that can

help governments and other stakeholders commit fully to promoting EE. The monitoring and evaluation of this course should ideally however be developed within a comprehensive national monitoring and evaluation sys-tem at all education levels. This system should also make sure to collect sex-disaggregated data as well as the experiences of young women and men going through the schools and the different programmes there provided.

• Set well-defined objectives and appropriate measures for EE programmes

EE programmes should have well-defined objectives and appropriate measures for determining success. They should be regularly evaluated with feedback from administrators, teacher, parents and learners. Evalua-tion results should be obtained on a regular basis and continuously fed into the development process.

• Budget, from the onset, the monitoring of progress on implementing the EE plan, including periodic evaluations as well as an assessment of outcomes

Resources should be allocated, from the very start of the process, for the monitoring of progress in implement-ing the EE plan and programmes. This should include resources for periodic evaluations as well as outcome assessments. This is important as progress and outcome measures will be necessary to demonstrate that the plan and programmes are having the intended outcomes and for building continuing financial support.

• Ensure that schools have the capacity to collect and store monitoring data

Monitoring data should include not only basic informa-tion on students, but also data collected through pre and post testing to serve as baselines. Schools and/or teach-ers should begin data collection from the onset in order

The ILO’s KAB entrepreneurship education programme was first introduced in Kazakhstan in 2001 and pilot tested in five professional colleges and lyceums. By the end of 2008 around 10 primary vocational schools in Kazakh-stan were teaching KAB to 3000 students. It was in April 2009, however that with the financial support of the two largest oil companies in Kazakhstan - Chevron and Baker Hughes - USAID launched a project in support of KAB implementation which was administered by the Kazakhstan Small Business Development Project. Thanks to these new partnerships and private funding, within two years, the Ministry of Education & Science had decided to adopt the full version of the KAB course in the amount of 80 hours (as recommended by ILO) in vocational education, 619 new teachers had been trained to deliver KAB in all 14 oblasts, and the number of KAB students per year had increased from about 2,400 to about 114,800.

For more information visit Baker Hughes’ corporate social responsibility webpage via http://www.bakerhughes.com/company/ responsibility/people-and-society/community-engagement/education-programs

III. MONITORING AND EVALUATION

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to provide a baseline for future reference on progress in implementing EE programmes. Many schools may not have the capacity or experience in collecting and stor-ing this type of monitoring data and therefore capacity needs should be assessed and gaps addressed in order to ensure quality data. Peer learning approaches may be used, including knowledge sharing between participat-ing schools.

• Conduct sample evaluations in various communitiesSampling of the population in various communities is important. A sample of teachers/administrators from rural urban and semi-urban schools can be estimated based on the overall population of teachers. These peo-ple could be asked to submit periodic data and self-eval-uation reports on the curriculum. A system of incentives should accompany this monitoring mechanism in order to ensure that classroom teachers and administrators effectively report back and provide education authori-ties with a representative sample of how the curriculum is performing in different settings.

• Undertake periodic reviews and ensure findings and lessons learned feedback into the policy, the national strategy and the curricula

A periodic review of all aspects of the entrepreneurship education and training programme should be under-taken during at least the first five years it is being imple-mented on a national level.

a) At the level of students’ progress, at the end of each academic year, for example, a sample of learner test scores could be analysed to identify content areas which have been difficult for students to internalize. These should be evaluated by gender and other sub-categories to make sure each target group is progressing as expected. Based on these evaluations, revisions might be made in the content and methodology of teaching the entrepreneurship course.

b) At the level of teachers’ capacities, at the end of each academic year or whatever timeframe considered appro-priate, a sample of (or all) teachers could be asked to undertake an assessment of their knowledge on the con-tent and methodologies as to assess whether refresher trainings are required.

c) At the level of schools, education institutions could be requested to provide information on the hours reserved for the curriculum and the contents covered.

b)BuildResearchCapacity

In addition to embedding entrepreneurship into the curriculum, it is also important to encourage research on entrepreneurship and EE within research institutions. This will ensure continual learning and encourage on-going adjustment and development of EE programmes. Also, while the some of the outcomes of EE are difficult to measure (entrepreneurial mind-sets, capabilities and attitudes), it is important to develop some input and out-put metrics which provide some measures of the progress and results of EE. Below are some suggested guidelines for building entrepreneurship research capacity.

• Develop a research agenda A research agenda should be developed during the con-ceptual stage of implementing the curriculum. College of Education graduate students at universities might be helpful in conducting research regarding entrepreneur-ship as part of their Ph.D. or Master’s Degree require-ment. The research agenda should include challenges and opportunities for youth and women in order to ensure that any systemic barriers are identified and rec-ommendations made to address them. Research should enhance evidence-based policies and programmes in entrepreneurship development.

• Conduct studies to monitor progress of EEFollow up and impact studies would help in monitoring the progress of EE. These studies should include an eval-uation of the impact on both young women and men. The studies could be of interest to national and inter-national funding agencies in order to justify the cost of implementing entrepreneurship education and training.

• Study models of public-private sector cooperation Conduct research regarding the cooperation needed between the public and private sector to most effectively implement EE programmes.

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Developing a national policy framework and strategic plan can facilitate the effective coordination and inte-gration of EE into the national curriculum but also help ensure the sustainability of such an initiative. The guide-lines below are meant to help policy makers in launching the process, including conducting the necessary prepa-ratory work and identifying the main actors needed for the development of such a framework. Again, the items listed here are not meant to imply a linear order. Dif-ferent elements of the process might be put in place in varying orders. Also, this overall phase can take varying amounts of time. In the ILO’s experience, this phase can take from 6 months to 24 depending on the start-ing point, existing conditions and political commitment within the country.

a)Developanationalentrepreneurship educationpolicyframework

To integrate entrepreneurship education into the national curriculum, it is important to develop a national policy framework which links entrepreneurship educa-tion and training into the appropriate policies within relevant ministries such as education, economy, employ-ment, etc. To do so requires a commitment at the highest levels of government as well as political and economic support at the national and local levels.

• Awareness raising and building of political supportRaising awareness about the importance of entrepre-neurship education and training at the national and local levels is a critical step. It is important that policy makers and other stakeholders recognize that entrepreneurship is not just about creating companies, it is about devel-oping attitudes, behaviours, capabilities and mind-sets. People can be entrepreneurial in their lives, their jobs and in all sectors, not just in the private sector. Entre-preneurship can provide a means for achieving personal fulfilment, active citizenship, social responsibility and decent and productive employment. It can also enable the commercialization of innovative ideas into jobs and economic growth. It can also facilitate a better matching of skills and jobs, critical for addressing the unemploy-ment challenge in countries around the world.

National policies should make it clear that a subject such as entrepreneurship would have a similar status as the more “measurable” academic subjects. However, it is important that the rationale for including entrepre-neurship education into the national curriculum can be explicitly stated with specific examples cited. This could require not only a broader campaign supporting the development of entrepreneurship but also specific actions targeted towards policy makers. These could include conducting short workshops and seminars on entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship education and training for top government officials. High level commit-ment is necessary for creating a network of influential people needed to move entrepreneurship education forward and have it accepted as part of the curriculum.

In Syria, the Ministry of Education decided in 2007 to introduce entrepreneurship education into the national curricula of intermediary vocational schools based on an evaluation of the ILO’s Know About Business entrepre-neurship education programme pilot in general and intermediary vocational schools. The evaluation highlighted KAB’s substantial and significant impact on participants’ self-assessed knowledge of business, with a 14.4 percent increase for students between the time the time they began to when they finished the course. This type of strong evidence was made possible thanks to ILO’s national implementation partner SHABAB who planned and carried out a pre-test and post-test on students’ knowledge and attitudes. Later, in 2008 SHABAB went on to carry base-line data collection from a group of KAB students and a group of non-KAB students for an impact evaluation. The 2011 impact research from that data found that even a year and a half after graduation, KAB students remained more knowledgeable on business than their peers, and were more likely than the comparison group to start a business within the next three years (61 per cent vs. 50 per cent). This difference was found to be even stronger among young women (57 per cent vs. 44 per cent).

You can access the impact research document on Syria on the Syria country page ofhttp://www.knowaboutbusiness.org

IV. POLICY & STRATEGY FRAMEWORK DEVELOPMENT

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Workshops and seminars at the regional and local levels followed by a national conference could help facilitate a national debate on the need for policies regarding entre-preneurship education. The workshops and national conference would bring together key top government officials, members of key ministries as well as the main intermediary organizations which might play a role in implementation as well as in linking education with the world of business.

• Encourage inter-ministerial cooperationEntrepreneurship education cuts across a number of disciplines and therefore often needs to be implemented across a variety of ministries and government agencies. These could include Ministries of Education, Economics, Labour/Employment, Trade, Development and Finance, Gender and Youth etc. Inter-ministerial cooperation is vital to ensure a coherent and comprehensive policy con-cerning entrepreneurship education, training, enterprise development and employment creation. As a first step, it is important to identify all relevant government agencies in order to identify and engage key policy stakeholders.

• Identify policies and programmes related to entrepreneurship and enterprise development

It is helpful to identify existing policies and programmes in areas such as skills development or enterprise pro-motion in the ministries relevant to EE to help deter-mine gaps, opportunities and possible steps forward. Any current or past programmes and policies related to the role of entrepreneurship in social and economic development should be identified and used in develop-ing a framework for the inclusion of entrepreneurship into the national educational system. While identifying current policies, it is important to also consider the fact that, although not intentionally, many of these policies and programmes may be gender blind. This means that young women and men may not be equitably benefiting from such programmes or there may be systemic bar-riers that could impede their full participation in these programmes, leading to a loss of potential from a sig-nificant portion of the population to access or generate decent work opportunities.

b)Prepareanational implementationstrategy

Having a conducive policy framework is an essential step; however, it is crucial that it be accompanied or fol-lowed by a national implementation strategy for entre-preneurship education and training. The strategy should present clear objectives and identify all relevant actors

(public and private) in a general framework with clearly defined roles, responsibilities and implementation pro-cedures for all levels of education. These procedures would range from the inclusion of entrepreneurship into the national curricula to providing support to schools and teachers. The overall goal would be to ensure that, within a lifelong learning approach, young women and men acquire entrepreneurial competence in a logical manner at all levels of the education system. The follow-ing guidelines highlight key action items for developing a national implementation strategy.

• Analyse procedures for curricula development within the country’s ministry of education

For entrepreneurship education to be institutionalized, it needs to become a part of the school curriculum, over which the Ministry of Education has jurisdiction. It is therefore important to understand the bureaucratic procedures needed to have additional materials, a new course and/or teaching methods approved by the Minis-try of Education. At a minimum, a review of the current curriculum might reveal possibilities for substituting entrepreneurship education courses for existing courses that may not be as relevant. If this is not possible, the course might be implemented as an optional course or integrated as modules within existing courses on related themes.

• Develop coherent lifelong learning policiesEntrepreneurship has increasingly been recognized a core competency8 in the lifelong learning process and a critical skill for the 21st century. The development of coherent lifelong learning policies would provide a use-ful framework for developing entrepreneurship as one of the key competencies for all citizens and to connect the entrepreneurial learning process across primary, secondary, vocational and higher education. These inter-faces would be needed not only in terms of curriculum, as to avoid overlapping of content, but moreover in terms of outcomes to ensure that the learning from one level of education is built upon in the next and that learning components are suitable and relevant to the different age levels. The final outcomes of EE at each education level should be clearly stated and these outcomes should build on each other as the student moves from one level to the next.

• Map current practices of national education and training systems

Current practices of national education and training systems, including curricula and impact assessments

8 European Commission Recommendation on Key Competences for Lifelong Learning, 2006

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regarding approaches of education and training, should be identified and mapped to clarify gaps and/or over-laps and determine whether they encourage or hinder the development of an entrepreneurial mind-set among young people. This will help in identifying areas to target in the strategic plan.

• Create a strategic implementation planBased on the policy recommendations, a plan highlight-ing the rationale and procedures for implementing entre-preneurship education and training into the national curriculum should be prepared. A comprehensive entre-preneurship education and training strategy at national level is crucial to establish permanent inter-service and inter-ministerial coordination involving all departments and actors concerned. This cooperation should lead to a strategic action plan with clear objectives, benchmarks and monitoring of progress at all levels of education.

• Establish cross ministry steering committees at the national, regional and local levels

To promote cooperation between ministries and other agencies in both the public and private sectors, steer-ing committees should be established at the national, regional and local levels. These should include all stake-holders involved in entrepreneurship education and training (educators, business leaders from employers’ organizations, parents and community groups, etc.) as well as represent the voice and the needs of both young women and men.

c)Engageeducationalinstitutions

Securing the engagement and commitment of educa-tion institutions is a critical part of the process at the planning phase. Documentation at the national level of experiences from across the country regarding the implementation of entrepreneurship into educational programs at the primary, secondary, vocational and ter-tiary levels is essential. The following guidelines provide suggestions regarding the engagement of the key players in the education system.

• Secure commitment from the main actors in the field of education in the country. Within vocational education, ensure that representatives from vocational schools, representing sectors that ensure equitable participation of both women and men

The heads of vocational educational institutions within a country need to be committed to integrating EE into the curriculum as they will be required to play an active role

in the process. It is therefore important to engage the educational leadership (from heads of schools to deans and rectors of professional colleges) at an early stage in the process.

• Work through existing departments and training institutes

Representatives of Departments of Curriculum and Teacher Training Institutions in the Ministry of Edu-cation should be actively involved in all phases of the conceptualization, design and implementation of EE. A selection of sectors with broad outreach to both women and men should be ensured for both the pilot phase and onwards. Secondary and vocational teacher prepara-tion institutions should be involved at the beginning of the implementation process and should take the lead in preparing exemplary teachers to pilot test and then teach entrepreneurship once the course is approved as a regular course. National teacher associations/unions should also be fully involved in all phases of the imple-mentation of entrepreneurship education and training programmes and in the training and re-training of teach-ers in charge of EE.

• Determine the most effective and efficient entry points for implementing EE

An assessment would help to determine where and what kind of entrepreneurship content best fits into each level of the education system, from primary through univer-sity. The most effective and efficient entry points for implementing entrepreneurship education and training should be determined.

Vocational education plays a critical role in training young people for employment. In developing countries, its role is even more important given the lower percent-ages of students able to continue into universities. With the hands-on and practical nature of entrepreneurship, it is often a good fit with vocational education and can be integrated more easily than in secondary education, where the established curricula make it more difficult to add new courses.

• Based on the country’s context and history, encourage that both public and private institutions help implement EE

Both public and private institutions should be encour-aged to implement entrepreneurship education and training. Private institutions have the potential advan-tage of adapting changes more rapidly and can provide good test cases which might later facilitate the expansion of programmes into the public sector.

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SomeAdditionalFactorstoTakeintoConsider-ationduringImplementation

The guidelines and timeframes are meant to help pol-icy makers and other stakeholders understand the key components for successfully integrating EE into the cur-riculum of vocational education. As discussed earlier, the local context must be taken into account to adjust and use these guidelines in the most appropriate man-ner. Learning about international programmes (such as KAB) can be a good starting point as well as speaking with international organizations and others with experi-ence in implementing EE in other countries.

Some additional factors to take intoconsideration include:

Dialogue and cooperation between different depart-ments in government responsible for entrepreneurship education policies and actions are critical. Often out-side third parties, whether international organizations, NGOs, foundations or other relevant organizations can play a helpful role in creating the necessary bridges across ministries and departments.

As mentioned earlier but key to the process and there-fore worth emphasizing, all stakeholders (government, academic institutions, employers’ organizations and civil society) must be engaged at each stage of the process. This engagement and cooperation is important at the national and local levels.

It helps to have a ministerial level coordination point for entrepreneurship and/or EE to improve cross-ministry coordination and avoid fragmentation of efforts.

Links between the formal education system and the labour market are critical. Educational institutions should foster links with local enterprises, employers’ organizations and young entrepreneurs, and with the local community. In many countries, this is a big cultural shift but it is a necessary one. This should include identi-fying and actively engaging local and national entrepre-neurs in the learning process.

Entrepreneurship is cross-disciplinary and therefore it should not be taught exclusively in business manage-ment programmes 9. Entrepreneurs emerge out of art, design and many other programmes. The majority of high growth entrepreneurs come from engineering and science programmes, which therefore also has implica-tions in terms of gender equality.

Entrepreneurship is about action. Therefore pro-grammes must also be action-oriented, providing an opportunities for learners to work in teams and engage in “hands on”, experience-based learning. Teaching is normally based on theory and therefore there is a natural disconnect which must be overcome. This is why teacher training is such a critical part of the process for integrating an entrepreneurship education programme.

Many teachers may not be familiar or comfortable with interactive methodologies and may prefer lecturing. It is therefore important to identify incentives to encour-age teachers to take on these new ways of working. For example, Entrepreneurship education training of teach-ers can be promoted as a positive opportunity for skills development. The necessary time and resources must be invested to train, develop and reward teachers.

The sharing of practices and exchanges between teach-ers are important to enable continued learning, devel-opment and expansion of models that are successful. Governments can support these exchanges of practices through the development of online platforms and con-ferences or workshops. These could provide additional support and incentive for teachers to teach entrepre-neurship.

9 Entrepreneurship in higher education, especially within non-business studies, European Commission, 2008

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It is not enough to have a student participate in an iso-lated entrepreneurship course – they must be part of an entrepreneurial learning environment. In addition to the formal curriculum, extra-curricular activities can play an important role. It is therefore helpful to encourage and link young women and men who want to further develop their entrepreneurial interests to extra-curricular activi-ties as well as other services and resources.

The outcomes of entrepreneurship education are diffi-cult to measure, particularly as they manifest themselves over the career of the programme graduates. However, having some measures, at least in terms of inputs and outputs, is important in addition to creating a measure-ment approach to capture longer term results.

Sustainability is a key issue. Often initial funding sup-ports programmes for the first years but unless the pro-gramme is institutionalised, funding may dry up causing the programme to end just when it is working well. It is therefore important to build sustainability into the fund-ing plan at the initial stages.

Conclusions

Despite their general nature, these guidelines aspire to help ILO officials in country offices, policy makers and agencies within ministries of education and national organizations navi-

gate through the complex waters of building support and commitment to entrepreneurship education and training at the national level, identifying a strategy for implementation within the vocational education system and taking concrete actions towards it with the support of the key stakeholders.

Institutionalizing entrepreneurship education and train-ing requires commitment at the highest levels of govern-ment as well as political and economic support at the national and local levels. A policy framework should be accompanied by a national implementation strategy for entrepreneurship education and training. It is also important to secure the engage and commitment of edu-cation institutions as well as other key stakeholders.

Entrepreneurship education requires a rethinking of both content and process for teaching. Teacher train-ing is therefore critical. To implement EE effectively, it is important to engage stakeholders and the national, regional and local level in a transparent manner. Funding must also be secured from both public and private sector sources. Finally, it is important to monitor, evaluate and revise entrepreneurship curriculum on a periodic basis. Data collection, analysis and reporting provide a greatly needed toolkit to determine whether programmes are meeting the necessary goals and assessing the impact on students.

It takes time to change the curriculum but changes are needed to prepare today’s youth for tomorrow’s future. These guidelines are meant to help make the process clearer and to highlight key action steps which have worked in a number of countries around the world.

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AppendixADefinitionsofEntrepreneur-shipandEntrepreneurshipEducations

Entrepreneurship Education is a new, though dynamic, field of work and research, especially in developing coun-tries. As a result, the term entrepreneurship education has seen the emergence of a wide range of definitions - from the broader to the narrower. In the literature and in practice, definitions vary in terms of their scope and content. Definitions may address the objective, the tar-get (audience), the format (content) and approach (how it is taught).

Here below we discuss a few of the existing and more widely used definitions before heading on to the one we propose here which remains a working definition.

European Commission: “Entrepreneurship refers to an individual’s ability to turn ideas into action.” ETF: “All forms of education and training, both formal and non-formal, which contribute to an entrepreneurial spirit and entrepreneurial behaviour with or without a commercial objective”.

ILO: “Entrepreneurship education seeks to provide indi-viduals with the knowledge, values, attitudes, skills and competencies necessary for the development of positive attitudes towards entrepreneurship and business and through this, help them increase their employability. In the long run, it seeks to contribute to the overall devel-opment of a positive culture to sustainable enterprises within societies”.

AppendixBCurrentILOProgramsrelatedtoEntrepreneurshipEducationandTraining

As part of its approach to entrepreneurship promotion, the ILO (under SEED), has been very proactive in the field of entrepreneurship since the mid-1990’s. It has a successful product (KAB) as well as a solid track record in implementing the program in more than 40 countries around the world. Two other programmes, Start and Improve Your Business (SIYB) and Expand Your Busi-ness (EYB) are offered to support opportunity entrepre-neurs, fast growth firms and SMEs with growth potential.

In addition to these, SEED has a full set of programmes addressing women and gender equality, which are com-plementary to the other programmes but also a stand- alone entrepreneurship development programme for women and has begun to launch initiatives in the area of social economy in collaboration with other of the EMP/ENTERPRISE Department.

For more information visit:

Small Enterprise Programme:http://www.ilo.org/seedYouth Entrepreneurship:http://www.ilo.org/empent/Areasofwork/lang--en/WCMS_093871/index.htm http://www.knowaboutbusiness.org

Enterprise Start-up & Improvements:http://www.ilo.org/empent/Whatwedo/Projects/lang--en/WCMS_143335/index.htm

Women’s Entrepreneurship Development:http://www.ilo.org/wed

Social Economy and Cooperatives:http://www.ilo.org/empent/WorkingUnits/lang--en/WCMS_DOC_ENT_DPT_COO_EN/index.htm

BUILDING BUSINESSAND ENTREPRENEURSHIPAWARENESS

An ILO experience of integrating entrepreneurship education into national vocational education systems

For more information visit:www.ilo.org/seedwww.knowaboutbusiness.org International Labour OfficeSmall Enterprise ProgrammeRoute des Morillons 4CH-1211 Geneva 22 E-Mail: seed@ilo.org